Differences
by Foxbear
Summary: Despite the multitude of similarities between the two species there are inherent differences between Cybertronians and humans. Confronting them can sometimes be uncomfortable even for the hardiest of humans.
1. Chapter 1

**Differences 1**

**A Transformers Prime Fanfiction**

**Set Before "Trickster" **

The stars over this arid land had seen far too many battles to count. They had watched, singing a song that man no longer heard, as he killed his brother with stone, spears, swords, and weapons that drew their power from the stars themselves. The sounds of wood and stone had long since been replaced with the clash metal and the rumble of explosions, but the titans that they watched tonight were not the creatures of carbon and water they had always known. The striking of metal on metal came from living flesh composed of elements alien but not unknown to the world the great beings now fought over. The sound of rending metal filled the still night air along with a cry of triumph, and still the stars sang on.

O

O

"Jack!" the demanding cry filled the silo causing the raven haired human in question to jerk his attention away from the computer screen he'd been studying.

"What is it Ratchet?" he asked with a level voice concealing the fear that twisted in his gut.

That tone usually meant someone had been injured, or worse. The words that came next were expected and caught the raven haired youth as he turned the corner into the medbay.

"Warm up the mesh sealer and prep the frame welder Jack. Optimus is seriously injured and coming in hot."

The human felt his stomach wind even tighter at that. He focused on the task at hand; pulling Cybertronian sized scanners and scalpels out of cabinets and arranging them around the large berth the medic used for Optimus. He darted up and down strategically placed ladders, ran his hands swiftly over the alien sigils that activated the devices Ratchet would most likely need, and finally stood tensely to the side ears straining to hear the thunder of giant pedfalls. The seconds stretched out unbelievably as his heart raced.

Optimus was injured bad enough to retreat. That probably meant Megatron had been at the energon gathering site; possibly Dreadwing. There were few enemies that could take on the Prime and seriously damage him. Jack shifted and wiped his sweating palms on his pants, running the list of things the medic might need through his mind. What was taking them so long?

"Ratchet! Optimus is hurt!" Arcee's voice cut through the silo and Jack had to admire her control, his own heart began to pound even harder.

"Medbay, now!"

The heavy steady pedfalls of the Prime filled the silo and the human felt himself relax slightly. Optimus was still walking at least. When the mech came around the corner of the room however his stomach lurched. The red and blue Cybertronian was clutching his left arm with his right servo. Energon ran freely down the crimson mesh. Jack couldn't quite process what he was looking at. There was simply too much movement in the damaged limb. The Prime seemed to sense the youth's attention and those cerulean optics sought out the blue-grey eyes with a comforting smile. Jack responded with a weak smile of his own as he watched Ratchet maneuver Optimus into the best position on the medical berth.

The medic was barking orders to Arcee who stood alertly and nervously at the berth side. Jack didn't like what he was hearing. True, he was no expert on Cybertronian medical terminology but words like irreparable, torn lines, and gross damage couldn't be good for any species. The youth started when Ratchet snapped out him name and darted across the lab to pull the requested device out of a low cupboard. The red and white mech snatched it from his hands without comment and continued treating the Prime.

"Jackson," the deep voice was tight, full of pain.

"Yes, Optimus?" Jack asked a little shakily, he had seen the kind of damage the great mech could take without flinching, to hear so much suffering expressed was disturbing.

"Come up beside me?" it was a request, and also an offer.

The raven haired youth nodded eagerly and leapt easily up to the berth and made his way to stand beside the blue helm opposite where Ratchet was working; the mass of Optimus's head shielding him from stray energon droplets. Not that he of all humans really needed that protection. The Prime turned to look at the human and Jack felt something pass between them; permission. Not for the first time the raven haired youth found himself cursing his limitations and almost regretting the mech's faith in him as he reached out to gently rest a hand on the smooth mesh.

Jack closed his eyes and focused outward. Soon his awareness shifted from the solid sensations of matter to the glowing life force that surrounded him. Here; deep within the mountain the living luminosity was less but it made it that much easier to focus on his task. The youth let his awareness wander over Arcee; her pale blue life force slightly blurry, Ratchet; the strong gold gleaming with his intense focus, finally the human steeled himself and focused on Optimus. The Prime hummed with raw power that once again nearly took his breath away. Even injured the mech radiated a life force that could not be ignored. It was not the silvery-blue power that made Jack hesitate however, but what he knew he would see on the Prime's arm.

Unlike humans who gave off a seamless aura of life force Jack had noted that Cybertronians were something like galaxies. They had a bright core at their sparks surround by intricate interwoven lacework that matched the patterns of energon lines that Ratchet had shown him once. He let his awareness wander over the Prime's form, keenly aware that the increased brightness he saw was due to the mech's systems fighting to repair the damage to his… Jack's stomach decided to quit twisting and simply vacate his body when his awareness fell on the injury.

Damaged didn't even begin to describe it. The veins of energon that carried the life giving substance from the Prime's great spark to his servos had been shorn clear through from his shoulder to his wrist. The delicate trace work of fine capillaries were shattered and scattered. Energon pooled where the mighty force of black servos on the healthy hand had crushed the torn mesh together. The damage ran diagonally through the powerful frame that comprised the core of the arm the only remaining attachment; the intricate but shattered joints of the wrist. Perhaps worse than all of that was the taint. Staining the rough edges of the wound and slowly seeping into the open vessels was the revolting purple taint of dark energon.

Again the raven haired youth cursed his meager healing ability. When his friend and mentor Zech Franklin had begun teaching him to wield his new found abilities the other human had seemed convinced that Jack would soon master the art of aiding a body in repairing itself, but the truth had quickly become evident.

"You are a warrior Jack," the larger man had finally informed him, "and your potential is greater than I expected, but you will only ever have a weak healing ability."

The raven haired youth jerked his mind away from the memory and focused on what he could do now to help. Ratchet was rapidly sealing off the worst of the energon leaks. Prime's own systems were fine tuned and healthy, there was little even an experienced healer could do to assist him. Taking a deep breath Jack focused on the sickening presence of the dark energon. Carefully the human extended his own life force and gently nudged at a purple stain. Immediately the vile energy latched onto him and sought to overwhelm his control. The youth violently purged the taint and refocused. This time he formed his energy into a shield and began stroking the distorted glow. He felt the dark power trying to seep through the shield but kept up the slow tedious motion. One spot clear he shifted to the next. When his shield became too heavily tainted he purged the energy. The youth paused half way and measured the amount of energon still poisoning the mech's systems and the energetic cost to himself of creating and then rejecting the shield. With relief he saw that he would easily have enough energy to finish what he had started. Taking a deep breath the human focused on the next spot and began stroking the dark stain.


	2. Chapter 2

**Differences 2**

**A Transformers Prime Fanfiction**

**Set Before "Trickster" **

"I simply don't understand it," Ratchet groused, glaring at the readouts in annoyance.

"What's there to understand?" the cheerful voice of the base's newest recruit piped up from where he was busily scraping away at rust spots on the piping. "You're the best medic in existence and Optimus Prime is super tough! Mystery solved."

"Something purged the dark energon out of Optimus's systems, traces so faint that I did not even detect them until they were pooled on the med berth!"

"Eh, that's a good thing right?" the rookie asked helm tilted to one side.

"The result is. My ignorance is far from it," the medic muttered.

"Stop worrying about it Ratchet! Optimus is fine and will be as good as new in no time."

However the cheerful comment was met with only a dark glare.

"Won't he?" the silver and blue mech asked nervously.

Ratchet gave a long tired exvent as stared morosely over at where the Prime was sifting through the contents of a data pad. The red and cobalt blue Cybertronian was cradling the device in his damaged arm, leaving the other free to reach down and occasionally stroke the sleeping human beside him. Despite his dark thoughts the medic gave a small smile on seeing the gesture. Notwithstanding his loud protests to the contrary the medic was truly grateful that Primus had brought at least this human into their lives. Jack's presence always seemed to comfort their leader when little else could.

"Smokescreen, would you do something for me?" the medic asked without taking his optics off of the soothing scene before him.

"Anything Doc-bot! You name it, I'm on it!"

"Please drive to the hospital and pick up Nurse Darby after her shift is over. That will be in approximately four hours. I will contact her to expect you."

The cheerful visage wavered for a moment on the silver and blue mech's faceplates before being replaced with a forced grin.

"Sure, okay, yeah. Just go pick up Mrs. Darby from work. I can tell her it was your idea right?"

The nervousness in the younger mech's voice finally caught the red and white medic's attention and a small smirk twisted his faceplates

"Don't worry Smokescreen," Ratchet nearly purred in satisfaction. "I am reasonably certain she was exaggerating when she detailed most of her threats. There is really no reason for you to be frightened of one human femme."

"I'm not scared!" the other mech hurriedly assured him sending glyphs to indicate stout resolution but that was belied by the high angle of his door wings. "I just wasn't too sure she'd be happy to see me after, well, everything."

"Simply transport her from her workplace to the base," the medic snorted dismissively. "I am certain you will survive that."

The sleek sports car obeyed but he still radiated a sense of trepidation as his alt mode peeled out of the base. Once the youngest member of Team Prime was gone however the smile faded from the medic's faceplates to be replaced by a look of resignation. He walked over to where Optimus sat with heavy peds. The one spark of light in this mess was that June would be here to assist him this time. Her small skilled hands were going to be a deciding factor he was certain, but there was no denying the underling fact.

"Optimus," he began gravely. "We need to talk."

The Prime looked up at him and nodded and the medic flinched at the pain he saw in those cerulean optics. One black had descended and cupped over Jack's form; shielding the youth from being woken by their conversation.

"I have finished my analysis of your injury and while some details still remain unclear one thing is certain. There is no way to save the severed portion. I must amputate and soon."

The larger mech nodded slowly.

"I suspected as much old friend."

"I have sent Smokescreen to collect Nurse Darby. She will be of great use to me during the procedure. However we must begin the initial processes now."

Optimus nodded and gently scooped up the sleeping Jack. The human stirred and blinked up at him sleepily. The Prime briefly touched foreheads with the youth and then set him on the floor. Jack stretched and walked over to the human's living area to collapse on the couch. Ratchet let out a relieved sigh. At least the human would rest well tonight.

He began pulling out the tools he would need and laying them beside the operating berth. At least he had ample resources this time. The medic caught himself in the thought and gave a low chuckle as he worked.

"What do you find amusing?" Optimus inquired curiously

"Do you know what the standard requirements were for this sort of operation back on Cybertron before the war? The surgeons in the Iacon Hall of healing would not have considered doing this without three certified Core level physicians, a full team of attendant support, and as for equipment and supplies, don't get me started. A gama-rated micro scanner and several hundred gallons of nannite solution would have been the very minimum requirements for such an operation. Yet here I am; a mere field medic about to attempt a class three amputation with this," he gestured at the small collection of tools, "and the assistance of one human with less than a year's experience."

The red and white Autobot snorted and shook his helm as he selected the first tool.

"You have not been a 'mere' field medic for a very long time my friend," Optimus stated with a hint of humor, "and I have no doubt that the quality of the work you do will be excellent no matter the circumstances."

"Thank you for the vote of confidence Optimus," Ratchet sighed as he moved to examine the powerful limb. "Now please place your arm on the examination table so."

The preliminary exam went just as the medic expected it to, as did removing the framework that supported the damaged limb. It was slow and tedious work but difficult to mess up if one paid the slightest bit of attention. By the time a subdued Smokescreen pulled in and released Nurse Darby the mech had the frame dissembled and was waiting patiently for the woman. He wordlessly handed her a cup of coffee and the human sized data pad he had reformatted for her use. The nurse nodded and quickly scanned the information as she drank the caffeine down.

"Well then," she smiled up at the Prime when she had finished the drink and the reading. "Let's get this started shall we?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Differences 3**

**A Transformers Prime Fanfiction **

**Set Before "Trickster"**

"What do you find so funny Nurse Darby?" Ratchet asked a bit gruffly as he handed her the cup of tea he'd just warmed.

The woman sat in a battered office chair staring off into space as she laughed heartily. She composed herself enough to accept the offering and

"Just remembering a conversation I had once when I was a young and inexperienced nurse just out of training. My colleges and I were discussing the strangest procedure we'd assisted with and possible future ones we might be called on for; I don't think giant robotic life-form amputation made any of our lists."

The medic gave a short bark of laughter and returned to the diagnostic programming he was running on Optimus's new limb. The Prime was resting on the medical bay while his frame worked through the process of reintegrating the appendage. June glanced over at the recumbent form and fought down a wave of giddiness. She had just participated in a complex surgery on an alien life form. It was all so unbelievable.

"I'm still a little surprised that you even have extra parts after all this time," the nurse murmured softly into her mug as she stared at the severed limb floating in a clear container of amber energon solution.

"I have unfortunately had eons to study the fighting styles of my comrades and deduct the most likely injuries that would result," the medic responded with a sigh. "This is not the first time I have had to replace one of Optimus's hands. I am quite certain it will not be the last. Fabricating the most likely needed spare parts is one of the many tasks that occupies my time when I am not actively engaged in medical pursuits. Now we simply leave the healing and regenerative processes to Optimus's internal systems."

June smiled warmly up at him and the medic gladly accepted her sympathy. Perhaps their human friends would never exactly understand what the near ageless mechinodis had endured, still endured, but the woman could sense his weariness and respond to it.

"Come, you were short on sleep when you arrived Nurse Darby," the red and white Autobot offered as he held out his hand. "I imagine a shower and good long sleep will do you much good."

O

O

Jack leapt off Arcee as she transformed and jogged up the steps to the human's living area without a word. He wondered when they had gotten to this point; when they had stopped needing words. They still chatted and laughed together often, but somehow it seemed unnecessary now to ask about or comment on little things. The human paused to watch her stride back into the depths of the base. She was beautiful, he mused, a mixture of amazing power and surprising fragility; with the latter rarely shown to any being. Despite the differences in their species she was sometimes so very human, the youth thought with a smile as the Autobot disappeared down the corridor.

Jack turned with a sigh and lowered himself onto the couch. He hauled his backpack up beside him and pulled out his notebook. Homework had never been truly unpleasant for him the way many of his peers claimed. He had always found it relaxing in fact. These days the sound of his pencil scratching he paper, the smell of old textbooks, the feel of equations running through his head; it all was a welcome relief from what he considered his real life. As long as the human was furthering his education he was required to do something mundane, safe. While the pre-calculus equations lasted he didn't feel obligated to be planning out the next round of internet searches for incriminating images of the Autobots or any of the other myriad duties he had taken on in the base. He was well into the assignment, letting the flow of numbers run soothingly over his awareness when the sound of ped falls attracted his attention.

The raven haired youth flinched in concern and his grip on his pencil tightened. The steady deliberate steps were easily recognizable as Optimus's but there was an imbalance to the rhythm. It was subtle but to the sensitive youth it radiated the pain the Prime was no doubt experiencing. The soldier's habit of refusing to have his pain center tampered with drove Ratchet to no end of distraction. The Leader of the Autobots simply claimed that he thought more clearly with the pain than he could with the sensors deactivated. While Jack could understand his reasoning it didn't dissipate the sympathy pangs that radiated up his arm causing him to flex his hand.

"Jackson."

At the deep basso rumble the discomfort seemed to be washed away and Jack turned to glance over at the Prime with a warm smile. His blue-grey eyes took in the newly attached appendage; the dark grey of the hand meeting the healthy red of the forearm armor at the still braced wrist and tracking up the arm diagonally with faint traces of color beginning to reclaim the mesh. In the mech's other hand was a Cybertronian biohazard box.

"Yes Optimus?"

"I will be resuming monitor duty at this time. I intend to," the Cybertronian paused and tilted his helm slightly to one side as his gaze grew introspective, "recycle," Optimus continued but Jack could tell from the look on his faceplates that the mech was unsatisfied with the English word, "the remaining Cybertronium from my severed hand while I do. I trust this will not disturb you?"

"I don't think so," the human stated, "if it gets to loud I can just put my headphones on."

The red and blue Autobot nodded and turned back to the computer monitor, flicking open the biohazard box with his good hand. Jack resumed perusing his equations after sticking his ear buds in as a precaution. He was struggling with a particularly difficult cosign when he noticed the odd noise in a lull between songs. The human had grown used to alien sounds over his time at Autobot Base Omega One, many of them metallic. But this was different. The closest thing he could compare it to was the sensation from crushing aluminum foil between his fingers. Jack curiously turned off his mp3 player and glanced around.

At first he didn't know exactly what he was looking at. Optimus Prime was no doubt the source of the noise but it was emanating from his helm. From the way the silvery faceplates were moving it appeared he was chewing on something. Jack's mind whirled as he tried to make sense of the scene. He had never before seen the Autobot's eat, or chew anything. The red and blue mech was still intent on the data scrolling across the screen in front of him but his good hand came up and the black servos plucked a crumpled bit of something from between his dentia. The Prime used his healing hand to run one of Ratchet's scanners over the object and when the lights flashed dull amber he popped it back in his oral cavity and resumed chewing.

Jack shook his head in bewilderment but recognized the data scrolling across the screen and decided not to interrupt Optimus with questions. He tried to focus on his homework but once he had noticed the sound it was impossible to ignore and drove any thoughts of tangent lines out of his head while the majority of his brain cells seemed determined to discover what exactly the Prime was chewing on. The youth gamely struggled on through three more problems before deciding to retreat. He gathered up his things and stood to leave.

He glanced over at Optimus one last time and froze. From a standing position he could see into the open biohazard box. Resting beside it on the lid was the crumpled piece of metal the great mech had been chewing on. Submerged in translucent caramel colored goo was the Prime's severed hand. As the human stood frozen in shock black servos descended and casually snapped off a fragment of the appendage. Jack's eyes followed in macabre fascination as the Autobot raised the scrap of himself to his faceplates and popped it into his oral cavity.


	4. Chapter 4

**Differences 4**

**A Transformers Prime Fanfiction **

**Set Before "Trickster"**

It was odd, Jack mused a bit detached, how one's stomach could just up and decide to secede from one's body. At the moment it felt like his entire digestive tract was attempting to vacate its traditional place in favor of crawling under the nearest table to hide. Not that he could blame his wayward intestines. The rest of him was pretty much in the same boat. His hand flexed around the yellow pencil that was currently idling on the paper his eyes refused to focus on.

Recycle. Optimus Prime had used the word with hesitation, as if he knew very well that it failed to convey the proper meaning. The steady noise, like but distinct from crumpling metal demanded Jack's attention again and he gave his head a brisk shake. Not that that did much good. From the moment he had realized the source of the sound it had become an insidious constant; preventing him from giving his attention to anything else. The accompanying image seized his mind and his fingers tightened again while his stomach rolled; Optimus causally chewing his own servos like they were some kind of peanut brittle.

Jack wasn't entirely certain why he was still here. The ever thoughtful Prime had given him the perfect excuse to leave. The noise was distracting him from his studies. A particularly loud grinding crunch sent a shiver down the human's spine and set his teeth on edge. There was no reason to stay, but something held him to the spot as the long seconds dragged on and he tried to ignore the grating sound.

Optimus's cerulean optics never left the screen as he poured over the latest data, but for the processor that had once gathered and sorted the mass of information that poured into his one station in the Iacon Hall of Records what information they possessed was painfully small. Even with most of his processor dedicated to decoding the complex Iacon Database much of his processor was left free to observe the world around him.

Few, perhaps only Ratchet, truly understood how very aware the Prime was at all times. Many were the whispered conversations he had overheard and ignored for the sake of privacy. This awareness had not served him over well in his position on Cybertron, drawing his attention away from the tasks assigned him. But in the millennia he had been involved in this war it had save his spark and the sparks of his Autobots countless times. The strongest facet of this was his ability to sense the moods of his soldiers.

The Prime allowed his awareness to pause on the human currently sitting at one of the desks. It was clear that something was bothering the youth. He had been struggling over the same simple calculation for nearly half an hour now. It was equally clear however that Jack was fighting to hide his discomfort from the leader of the Autobots. For the moment The Cybertronian decided to respect the youth's privacy. Jack would share the problem with him in his own time.

The human had finally finished the mathematics problem when the sound of squealing tires filled the silo heralding the arrival of Miko and her guardian followed by a smaller yellow muscle car. He glanced over at the red and blue form in front of the monitor; glad of the distraction but concerned about the near tactless girl's reaction to the half eaten hand. Standing quickly the raven haired youth moved to intercept the slim Asian, but the nimble girl had already spotted the biohazard box and was instantly scrambling up the steps to get a closer look.

"Heya Boss Bot!" She called up cheerfully. "Watch ya got in there? The Hatchet doesn't usually like messy stuff near the computer. How'd you get him to let you keep whatever that is, oh!" The girl's honey colored eyes widened in shock as Jack came up behind her and rested a hand on her shoulder at the same time she identified the object in the suspension. "Frag! What is that doing there?"

"Miko!" Bulkhead gasped out. "Where did you hear language like that?"

"Like what?" the slim Asian demanded.

The ex-Wrecker stuttered and glanced helplessly at Optimus. The Prime hid a small smile and turned his attention to the girl.

"Frag is not a word to be used in most situations," he explained delicately.

"Arcee uses it," Miko pointed out. "And finding a hand in a bucket isn't what I'd call most situations."

The Prime made a note to speak to his second in command privately and knelt down to address the girl while he formulated his response. Underlying these thoughts was a sudden glimmer of understanding regarding Jack's behavior.

"It is a word expressive of great emotion and tainted with deep anger and disgust. While there are situations when it can be appropriate I sincerely hope you never experience any such conditions. It is foul language and unbecoming of a being of your intelligence."

"Right," Miko consented dismissively. "Frag's a four-letter word. Back to the main question. What is _that _doing there?" she pointed in macabre fascination at the remains of the severed appendage.

Optimus stood and delicately lifted the remaining palm and servos out of the fluid.

"While Ratchet is capable of constructing perfectly functional servos and joints there are certain elements necessary to our function not available off of Cybertron, most importantly cybartronium. Our reserves were depleted long ago necessitating that we recycle and reabsorb these trace elements."

"So what method do you use for that?" Raf asked an intense curiosity burning behind his glasses.

In reply the red and blue mech reached out and snapped off a fragment of the black palm.

"The degenerative gel disrupts the molecular bonds weakening the mesh and metal for mechanical separation and chemical absorption," the Prime explained carefully. "I then take small manageable fragments and absorb them through specially adapted receptors in my oral cavity after mechanically processing them in this manner."

The younger boy's eyes widened in shock as Optimus popped the section of mesh into his mouth and began chewing. The sound of warping metal filled the suddenly dead quiet silo until it was interrupted by a harsh hacking noise from Miko.

"That is so scrapping gross!" she shrieked out dramatically clutching her stomach. "I can't believe you just did that! That's your hand!"

Optimus arched an optic ridge at her but was more concerned with Raf's reaction. The boy was turning a fascinating shade of green and shaking a little. The Prime knelt down to assess the human but Raf suddenly bolted straight for a nearby trash can and proceeded to purge whatever biomatter he had been processing for digestion. Jack was at the smaller boy's side in a moment rubbing his back soothingly and holding him up. In response to a quick signal from Optimus Ratchet came striding out of the back caverns and immediately scanned the boy.

"I can detect nothing wrong," he stated with a confused frown.

"It's nothing really," Raf gasped out, "I just, I just-" the boy shot a guilty look over at Optimus and returned his attention to the bucket when he saw the great mandibles working steadily on the mesh fragment.

"It's just that that's scraping gross!" Miko repeated pointing to the Prime's faceplates. "Cool, but gross. I mean you're eating your hand, hak…" she clutched at her stomach and let out a moan.

"Miko seriously it's not that bad," Bulkhead tried to sooth her.

"So right, but I still think I better get outta here before I heave on you."

The ex-Wrecker shot an apologetic look at Optimus, who nodded with an understanding smile, and scooped Miko up before transforming and peeling out of the base. The Prime returned the focus of his attention to the two males. Raf was trying to stutter an apology between the random contractions of his diaphragm. Jack was quietly soothing him as he ran his hand over the smaller boy's back in circles. The red and blue mech noted that all signs of stress had left the raven haired youth now that he was concentrating on tending to his friend.

"Perhaps it would be best if you went to assist Bumblebee with the weekly inventory," Ratchet suggested gruffly, "but first come to the med bay with me and get something to drink to quiet your internals."

Raf nodded weakly and with a guilty glance at Optimus scrambled into Ratchet's outstretched hand. The medic carried him across the base and into the med bay asking a string of clinical questions as they went. Optimus returned his attention to Jack who had taken to his homework again and was very deliberately ignoring the Prime.

"Jackson?" the mech felt a slight twinge of discomfort when the youth flinched at his voice.

"Yes Optimus?"

"May I assume that you find this procedure unappealing as the others?"

The human hesitated, one hand gripping the book he held while the other came up to rub the back of his neck.

"I, no. I mean, I guess, maybe a little."

"There is no reason for you to remain here if you find the process disturbing," Optimus pointed out gently. "I would not be offended if you chose to work elsewhere in the base."

"I know that," Jack stated a bit too forcefully.

"There are several offices that would be quite comfortable work spaces, or I could open a bridge home for you."

"No thanks, it's really not that bad. I'll just stay here."

"Very well," the Prime stated softly and returned to his work.

Jack picked up his text book again and took a deep breath. He had learned to read the leader of the Autobots to a small degree over the months he had spent under the Cybertronian's care. From the tone of that last statement the conversation was not over.


	5. Chapter 5

**Differences 5**

**A Transformers Prime Fanfiction**

**Set Before "Trickster"**

Jack was beginning to wonder if it was possible to crawl out of your own skin. He had finally managed to force his attention back to his school work as long as the music was coming through his headphones, but at the pause between every song the steady grinding of the Optimus's chewing came over the silence, reminding him of the severed limb and its fate. Minutes stretched with agonizing slowness into hours as the low sound continued to fill the silo. The intermittent breaks when the Prime chose a new fragment only seemed to make the noise worse. But all things must come to an end and eventually he heard Ratchet stride up to the Prime and gruffly request the remains for final processing. The human was about to relax back into his chair when he sensed a presence standing over him.

"Optimus," Jack greeted the Prime with a bit of trepidation in his voice.

The sound of Bulkhead and Bumblebee pulling back into the main silo provided an odd background to the searching look the Autobot was giving him.

"Jack, there are certain supplies I need to acquire for the base and it would be useful to have a human along to handle the documentation."

"I'm on it," Jack said with a sigh of resignation. "I'll get my Private Smith costume."

The youth knew that though his presence did make things run more smoothly he was far from necessary to these little missions. Optimus was trying to get him alone for one of their talks and was making no secret of it. The human pulled out the army fatigues that Fowler had procured for him and quickly changed.

"Why are you worried idiot," he muttered fiercely to himself. "There's nothing to be afraid of. This is Optimus."

He forced himself to stride out across the cracked concrete of the silo floor and leapt up into the waiting red and blue semi. Jack was expecting the Prime to wait for him to open the conversation as was his custom but to his surprise as soon as they hit the highway the deep voice spoke.

"Why?"

"Excuse me?" Jack asked in surprise.

"You were clearly just as disturbed by the reabsorbtion process as were your peers. Why did you stay in the silo?"

"Ah, I mean, why not? I'm sure it's all a perfectly natural part of life for you all," the youth stated in a rush, his hand once again wandering up to rub the back of his neck.

"Perhaps natural for us," the Prime conceded, "but even a cursory search of your culture shows that it is far from natural for you. Why did you subject yourself to something that was so clearly uncomfortable for you when there were other options available?"

Then the silence fell. Jack knew that Optimus would give him as much time as he needed to answer so he leaned back into the seat and let his mind go blank simply drinking in the harsh desert landscape rolling by.

"I, I don't want to be a burden," he finally stated with a sigh.

That earned a disapproving rumble from the mighty engine as he felt the seatbelts tighten a bit. The human gripped the belt buckle in front of him and smiled. The Prime's meaning was clear enough. None of the Autobots considered him a burden.

"I am not certain I follow your reasoning," was all the semi said.

"You lost your home, your world," the raven haired youth murmured softly as his fingers traced patterns on the door beside him. "You ended up here; in an alien culture. You have to sacrifice so much on a daily basis. You put up with our weirdness because you really have no other choice. The least we can do is be accepting of any differences that might bother us. I mean in all the time that I've known you there been nothing that I could say I found really weird."

"And so you wanted to prove to yourself that you were capable of accepting something that was extremely 'weird' and repulsive?" Optimus asked. "That is why you subjected yourself to observing me eat my own hand?"

The human shuddered in the seat at the reminder and the Autobot's chemical receptors picked up increased levels of stress pheromones. Jack squirmed and glanced down in embarrassment. It sounded almost selfish when the Prime put it like that.

"Jackson," the human glanced up at the tone; Optimus sounded almost amused. "Do you know how long I have traveled from star to star?"

"A very long time," the youth responded.

"Indeed. I have seen many worlds countless cultures, and while there are times your people surprise me there is little left in this galaxy that could truly shock me, but were I to find some aspect of human culture unpalatable, would you insist I experience it when unnecessary?"

"Of course not!"

"Then why do you subject yourself to this standard?"

"I want to be with you," Jack finally replied as the truth solidified in his mind. "I don't want to be separated from Arcee, from Bee, or Smokey, or Bulk, or even Ratchet. Not by physical distance or differences and especially not some petty cultural misunderstanding. I guess it just got driven home to me today. You guys are aliens but you act so human, I forget what changes you must have had to go through to become like that, what sacrifices you had to make."

Optimus felt a warm glow at the words and the intent behind them and sent a gentle vibration through the seats.

"It is true we have had to make many adjustments to live in your world Jack. However this is in our nature and we have done it many times before. The process of transformation is not a physical matter alone. That you are willing to take part in this transformation yourself despite your lack of experience shows that there are perhaps more similarities between our species than differences after all."

"You really think so?" Jack asked.

"Never on any of the worlds we visited were we welcomed as we have been here. This is the first world in these many eons that my warriors have allowed themselves to consider a home. Listen to what you are saying Jackson. You were expecting, demanding that your physical and mental reactions change to accommodate mine. Without even thinking about it you were holding yourself to our standards and attempting to mimic us. That is a transformation as extreme as any physical rearrangement my kind can make."

"But I failed," the human muttered slumping.

A low chuckled filled the cab making Jack blush.

"This was the first time you have faced such a difference young one," the Prime rumbled. "Perhaps one of the hardest lessons a leader must learn is to know his own weaknesses. There will be differences between us, perhaps some that will always be uncomfortable to address, but the mere fact that we are trying tells me that it is worth the effort. You might in time grow used to seeing us eat our own body parts but that is not necessarily the best outcome. It would be an entirely different matter for a human, whose needs are all met by the planet you live on, and it is not always wise to fight your instincts. Before the war such things were done subtly, in private. It only became common place to see it done in the open when the war had stripped away the more polite traditions of society. I will inform the rest of the team to restore those traditions."

"I don't want to cause you any trouble," Jack offered.

"Then perhaps next time the issue arises you will take my advice and relocate before your stress becomes obvious enough to distract me."

Jack's face grew red in embarrassment but a small smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. There was an undercurrent of humor running through the Primes voice; one that was rare enough that it had to be appreciated when it appeared no matter the circumstances.

"I guess that's a good compromise," the youth replied, "as long as you try to avoid this kind of thing in the first place."

"Then it is settled," there was definitely humor in the Prime's voice. "For your sake I will strive to avoid serious injury and for mine you will indulge your baser instincts."

Jack couldn't hold back any longer and burst out laughing and to his astonishment a deep basso rumble joined him. The human let his own voice fade and simply listened to the rare and wonderful sound of a Prime's laughter.


End file.
